-means for slackening the weft when weaving fabrics



April 9, 1929- J. MORTON ET AL MEANS FOR SLACKENING THE WEFT WHEN WEAVINE FABRICS 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 5, 1927 Fig. 2.

April 9, 1929. J. MORTON ET AL 1,708,143

' mums FOR SLACKENING THE WEFT WHEN WEAVING FABRICS Filed Sept- 5, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J we 7560/13 Jar/172x26 7/5 0m 94 Zo'ebgter 3532)! April 9, 1929. J. MORTON Er AL 1,708,148

MEANS FOR SLACKENING' THE WEFT WHEN WEAVING FABRICS Filed sept- 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet Patented Apr. 9, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES MORTON AND JOSEPH BEASLEY W'EBSIER, {3F CARLISLE, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS '10 MORTON SUNDOUB FABRICS LIMITED, OF DENTQNHILL, CARLISLE, ENGLAND.

MEANS FOR SLACKENIN'G THE WEFT WHEN WEAVIN G FABRICS.

Application filed September 3, 1927, Serial No. 217,436, and in Great Britain November 19, 1926.

In the weaving of certain fabrics it has been found desirable to n ride, st each insertion of weft by the sin ile of the loom, a length of weft greater than the, actual width of the fabi' so that the weft will lie slack in the saed of the wrps and, when beaten into fabric by the reed, will follow the contours of the warp threads without l'ODsE-fd], thereby preventing lateral contraction and con orient. distortion of the fabric. Tl '7 provion of extra weft ensures that the warps will be pr A erly covered and at the same time will gve extra weightto the fabric.

It has previous ziy been proposed to obtain the extra iength of weft by slackening it immediately after the shuttle has been H'iVXlOClVtii through the shed, such slacienl ng being ctfii cted by devices serving to undulatc or wave the weft before the lat beaten by the reed into the fabric. umlulations of the weft are not formed simultaneously, as this would tend to break the yarn, but are formed in sequence.

The dcvic jucviously roposed have entailed alterations eithe' the gearral construction or in the mode of operation of the looms to which they have been applied. For instance, in one such device the shuttle is provided with spceiai guides for leading the weft into the path of rotary screws associated with the shuttle, which screws undulate the weft, while, with another de- View, the movement of the l itten towards the fabric and the other contemporary operations of the loom have to be interrupted in order to allow the weft undulating operation to be effected. A disadvantage of these prior constructions reshh in the fact that the members for undula the weft act only on short lengths of it at a time, so that the undulations already formed by the members liable to be straighteniivl out. again before the weft bciten up,

ihe object of this invention is to remove the above disadvantage and, to this end, there is provided improved means for slackening the weft. which wiii be capable of convenient application to existing looms with out necessity for altering their. encral construct on or changing their mode of operation.

In acc ,rdance with the invention the weft, inserted by the shuttle, is acted upon by sets of (o-operating members in such manner as,

first, to pull the weft into an undulatory or wave formation and then to maintain it in this formation until the entire slackening operation has been elfected, whereupon all the members are moved out of the way so that the reed may act on the weft and beat it into the fabric.

The means employed comprise two sets of members, hereinafter referred to as fingors, those of the one set being adapted to move vertically and those of the other set to move :mgularly at timed intervals, mcclminisn'r being provided whereby, as the weft inserted, the angularly movable fingers are caused to swing between the vertically movable fingers (at rest for the time being) and pull the weft into a wave formation, in which formation it is maintained by the action of the fingers until the batten reaches a point just prior to the beating of the weft by the reed into the fabric, whereupon the operating mechanism causes all the fingers to be moved out of the way to permit the said heating of the weft to be effooted.

The mechanism for operating the angularly movable lingers is so timed as to cause them to act on the weft in sequential order following the movement of the shuttle, the weft bcin thereby brought gradually into its wave formation so as to avoid breaking it.

The operating mechanism causes the vertically movable fingers to be lowered out of the way immediately before the weft is beaten into the fabric and to be raised again shortly thereafter, and they are or may be maintained raised throughout the remainder of the battcns travel in order to act a slmttle guard and to retain the weft against the pull of the angularly movable tin ge rs.

Means may be provided for regulating the amplitude of the waves in the weft to suit different yarns or fabrics.

The invention has been illustrated by way of example in the accon'ipanying drawings as applied to a carpet loom, only so much of the loom is necessary for fully under standing the invention being shown.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a view showing the loom partly in section, partly in elevation, and partly diagrammatically, the section being taken on the line II of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the batten and parts associated therewith, tie view being drawn to a larger scale loosing in the direction oi the arrow II in Fig. 1. Only the left-lnind side of the batten is shown as the parts are arranged substantially symmetri'ally about the central line A;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan of Fig. 2, certain parts being removed for clearness;

Figs. 4; and 5 are fragmentary views showing the batten, to a larger scale, in posh ions ditl'erent trom that in which it is shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a section drawn to a larger scale on the line VIVI oil? Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view oi a modification and corresponding to Fig. .1.

The numeral 1 denotes the batten, 1 the shuttle-race, 1" a shuttle, the breast beam, 3 the warp beam, t the reed, and 5 the picking shalt of the loom. l5 denotes the threads of the warp, shown pasi aing inrough the eyes of the heddles C.

A cam shaft (3, disposed parallel to the picking shaft 5 of the loom, is journalled in hearings 7 on the frame of the loom and is connected to the picking shaft 5 through a train of gear-wheels, comprising a pinion S on the shaft 5, a spilrwhcel O meshing with the pinion 8 and secured to the counter-shaft 10, a pinion 11 also secured to the shaft 10, and a spurwheel 12 meshing with the pinion l1 and secured to the cam shatt (5. The shaft 6 carries a number of cams 1S, hereinafter described, coacting with cam-following rollers lit, each adjustahly mounted about midway of the length of one or other of a corresponding number of levers 15, each 'lulcrumcd at one end on one of a number of brackets 16 secured to beam 17 forming part of the frame of the loom. The rollers 14 are urged into contact with the cams 13 by means of springs 18 extending between the individual levers and a rod 19 brid ing two stationary brackets 20 secured to the breast beam 2 near the ends thereof. At their other ends, the levers 15 are adjustably connected at 15 to the lower ends of rods 21, the lengths of the rods being adjustable by means of turnbuekles 22. The conncc tions 15 would be located in, or in the proximity oi, the axis of oscillation of the batten 1. The upper ends of the rods 21 are iin jointed to cranks 2S tormed on collars 25trotatably mounted on a stationary shalt 25, which latter is adjustably supported at its ends by brackets 26 on the batten 1 and midway of its length by a bracket 27. There is one collar 24 "for each cam 13, and each collar is provided with a projecting finger 28 which is accommodated nornially in one or other of a number of recesses 2.) formed in the batten 1 below the shuttle race 1 thereon. The arrangement is such that, when the humps 30 of the cams 13 contact with and ween/is displace the rollers 14, the collars 24 are caused to turn through approximately right angle, so that the fingers 28 are swung into an uprightposition on the shaft 25.

Positioned along the front of the batten 1 and between the recesses 29 are guides 81 for vertically movable fingers 52, which latter are disposed substantially midway between the lingers 28, and in such manner that, when the lingers 28 are swung upwards, the said lingers 28 are aligned in advance of the line of the lingers 32. The lingers are carried by collars pivotally mounted on a rod 34; extending between the free ends of two levers pivoted on two brackets 36 located near the ends of the batten 1. The rod M has a pin and-slot connection with the levers 35, each of which has mounted on it a roller 37 acting as a follower to one or other of two cams presented by slots 38 formed in the two stationary brackets 20 carried by the breast beam 2. The cam-slots 38 are shaped with inclined portions which, at a certain part of the travel of the batten, cause 0 rollers 3-7 to be lowered so that the lingers 32 are withdrawn below the level of the shuttle race, while throughout the remainder of the travel of the batten the fingers 32 extend beyond the shuttle race to a level about the upper limit of the shed of the warp, as shown in Fig. 1.

As shown clearly in Fig. 1, each cam 13 has four bumps 30 and the humps of all the cams are arranged in four sets, the humps in each set being substantially in alignment. The leading faces of the humps, however, are not in alignment, but are progress vely more, or less, ad anced from one end or the set to the other. \Vhen considered as viewed in Fig.1, the leading faces of the more remote humps of the set about to contact with tie rollers 14 are progressively less advanced the further they are from the near end of the cam shaft 6. The leading faces of the diametrically opposite set of humps are similarly arranged. On the other hand, the leading laces oi the two intermediate sets of humps are progressively more advanced the further they are from the near end of the cam shaft 6. The trailing faces of the humps of each set are in alignment. Vv ith this arrangement, when a set of hun'ips moves past the rollers 14, the fingers 28 will be swung up in sequence (see Fig. 4;) and will thereafter be lowered in unison. The order of the sequence will depend on which set of humps contacts with the rollers 14:, the cam shaft (3 being so timed, with respect to the picking shaft 0, that, when the shuttle is shot from left to right of the batten (as viewed by the operator), the fingers 28 at the right-hand end of the batten will be swung up progressively after those at the letthand end. In ell'ect, the lingers 2S follow the shuttle.

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In the operation of the loom, while the batten is moving forward from its rearmost position, the fingers 28 and 32 occupy the positions shown in Fig. 1. As the batten advances, the rollers 14 are contacted by the humps 30 and the fingers 28 are swung up, in sequence, behind the weft IV already inserted by the shuttle, and they carry the weft between the fingers 32, thereby producing in ita Zigzag or wave formation, as shown in Fig. 3. As the batten approaches the fell D of the carpet E, the rollers 14 move along the trailing faces of the humps and :ause the fingers 28 to be withdrawn, in unison, in to their recesses 29. Simultaneously with the withdrawal of the fingers 28, the lingers 32 are lowered out of the way (see by the rollers 87 moving down the inclined portions of the cam-slots 38. Immediately thereafter the reed 4 beats up the weft into the fell the carpet. Shortly after the commencement of the rearward travel of the batten, the rollers 37 ride up the inclined portions of their cam-slots and force the fingers 32 u1'nvards between the warp threads of the new shed, in which position the fingers are maintained throughout the rest of the rearward travel of the batten.

It will be apparent that'the fingers 32 constitute an effective shuttle-guard.

In order that the amplitude of the waves formed in the weft can be varied to suit differeut fabrics, provision is made for regu lating the relationship which the fingers 28 bear, when in their upright position, to the fingers EL. To this end, the shaft is mounted, at its ends, in slots 26 in the brackets 26, and midway of its length in a slot 27 in the bracket 27: Bv slackening the nuts 25 on the ends of the shaft 25, the latter can be adjusted towards, or away from, the front of the batten, and can be thereafter secured in position by tighteningthe nuts. By so adjusting the position of the shaft 25, the relationship of the fingers 28 to the fingers 32will be correspondingly adjusted.

For the purpose of damping the vibrations of the fingers 28 when they have been swung into their upright position, a thin rod 39 encased in a sleeve of rubber 40 is extended between the brackets 26, the fingers 28 being adapted to bear against the sleeve '40 when in their upright position (see Fig.

4). In order that the sleeve 40 can be adjusted to suit the fingers 28, the rods are mounted in slots 39 on the brackets 26.

As shown in Fig.1, the humps are made separately from the bodies of the arms 13, and are removably fitted in slots 41 therein, being secured in position by screws 42'. All of the cams are made of the same pattern,but the shapes of the humps are varied in accordance with the timing desired for the action of the respective fingers 28 relatively to the working parts of the loom.

The speed ratio of the picking shaftfi to the cam shaft 6 is four to one in the embodiment shown, but this speed ratio can be varied if desired, at the same time correspondingly varying the number of sets of humps on the cams.

In the modification shown in Fig. 7 in stead of the fingers 32 being actuated as in the foregoing construction, they are actuated from the cam shaft 6 by a pair of cams 43, one being at each side of the loom (in the figure only one cam is shown). The fingers 28 are actuated in exactly the same manner as in the construction described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. Each of the cams 43 has four humps 13, there being in. all two humps 4:3 for each set of humps 30 on the cams 18. The levers (constructed simi lar to those in Fig. 1) are connected by means of rods 44, of adjustable length, to two levers 15 (one at each side of the loom) which are substantially similar to the levers 15. The levers carry rollers 46 which cooperate with the cams 43 and are held against the cams by springs 47. The timing of the hrunps 43 with respect to the working parts of the loom is similar to that of the inclined portions of the canrslots 38 in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 6.

It will be obvious that many other modifications could be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, instead of having a series of cams 18 for the fingers 28 only two cams might be employed, the rods 21 being connected at their lower ends to a substantially horizontal rod extending between two levers 15. The leading faces of the humps 30 of one cam would be set out of alignment with those of the other cam, so that, when the fingers 28 were being swung up, the sub-- stantially horizontal rod would be raised first at one end and then at the other, the fingers 28 being thereby raised in sequence.

Moreover, the mechanism employed for carrying out the invention may be varied more or less to suit different looms and fabrics.

We claim 1. In a loom for weaving fabrics, including a weft carrying shuttle, a movable batten and a reed associated therewith for beating the weft inserted by the shuttle into the fabric, means for slackening the weft comprising, in combination, a plurality of weftpulling i'nembers, a. plurality of weft-retain ing members, the pulling and retaining members being arranged along the batten,mezms for moving the pulling members in an angular manner and means for moving the retaining members linearly in a vertical direction so as to'cause them to engage the we ft and form waves therein.

2. In a loom for weaving fabrics, including a weft carrying shuttle, a moyable batten and a reed associated therewith for beating the weft inserted by the shuttle into the fabric, means for slackening the weft comprising, in combination, a plurality of weftpulling members, a plurality of weft-retaining members, the pulling and retaining members being arranged along the batten, means for moving the pulling members angularly and means for moving the retaining members linearly so as to cause them to engage the weft and form waves therein, the said members being maintained in the position into which they are moved until the batten approaches the end of its forward movement when the respective members are temporarily moved angularly and linearly out of the way so as to permit the reed to beat the weft into the fabric.

3. In a loom for weaving fabrics, including a weft carrying shuttle, a movable batten having a Sllllttl01ifl86flll(l a reed for beating the weft inserted by the shuttle into the fabric, means for slackening the weft inserted by the shuttle comprising, in combination, a set of pivotal fingers on the batten, a set of upwardly and downwardly linearly movable fingers on the batten, mechanism for moving the last mentioned fingers to retain the weft on the shuttle-race, and mechanism for moving the pivotal fingers to draw the weft into loops between the retaining fingers.

4. In a loom for weaving fabrics, including a weft carrying shuttle, a movable batten having a shuttle-race and a reed for beating the weft inserted by the shuttle into the fabric, means for slackening the weft inserted by the shuttle comprising, in combination, a set of pivotal fingers on the batten, a set of upwardly and downwardly linearly movable fingers on the batten, mechanism for moving the last mentioned fingers to retain the weft on the shuttle-race, and mechanism for moving the pivotal fingers to draw the weft into loops between the retaining fingers, the fingers of both sets being maintained in the said positions until the batten approaches the end of its forward movement when all the fingers are temporarily withdrawn so as to free the weft and allow it to be beaten into the fabric.

5. In a loom for weaving fabrics, includ ing a weft-carrying shuttle, a movable batten having a shuttle-race and a reed for beating the weft inserted by the shuttle into the fabric, means for slackening the weft inserted by the shuttle comprising, in combination, a set of fingers pivotally mounted on the batten, a set of weft retaining fingers slidably mounted on the batten, cam-operated mechanism for linearly raising the weft retaining fingers in front of the shuttle-race and cam-operated mechanism for angularly moving'the pivotally mounted fingers so as to engage and pull the weft slack.

6. In a loom for weaving fabrics, including a weft-carrying shuttle, a movable batten having a shuttlerace and a reed for beating the weft inserted by the shuttle into the fabric, means for slackening the weft inserted by the shuttle comprising, in combination, a set of fingers pivotally mounted on the batten, a set of weft retaining fingers slidably mounted on the batten, cam-operated mechanism for linearly raising the weft retaining fingers in front of the shuttlerace and cam-operated mechanism for angularly moving the pivotally mounted fingers so as to engage and pull the weft slack, the cam-operated mechanism causing the fingers of both sets to hold the weft slack until the batten approaches the end of its forward movement when they are temporarily moved so as to liberate the weft.

7. A loom for weaving fabrics comprising a batten, a set of slidable weft-retaining fingers on the batten, a set of pivotal weftpulling fingers on the batten, the batten having recesses formed in it adapted to receive the pulling fingers, mechanism for linearly raising the retaining fingers to form a row in front of the shuttle-race of the batten and mechanism for angularly raising the pulling fingers out of their recesses and swinging them forward between the retaining fingers.

8. A loom for weaving fabrics comprising a batten, an adjustable set of fingers pivotally mounted on the batten, a set of fingers slidably mounted on the batten, mechanism for linearly moving the slidably mounted fingers to a position in front of the shuttlerace, andmechanism for angularly moving the pivotally mounted fingers to a position in front of the slidably mounted fingers.

9. A loom for Weaving fabrics comprising a bat-ten, a set of slidable weft-retaining fingers mounted on the batten, a set of pivotal weft-pulling fingers adjustably mounted 011 the batten and arranged alternately with the weft-retaining fingers, recesses formed in the batten beneath its shuttle-race and adapted to receive the pulling fingers, mechanism for linearly raising the retaining fingers to form a row in front of the shuttlerace, and mechanism for angularly raising the pulling fingers out of their recesses and swinging them forward to an adjustable extent in advance of the retaining fingers so as to produce a wave formation of predetermined amplitude in the weft.

10. A loom for weaving fabrics comprising a batten, weft retaining members spaced along the batten, weft-pulling members also spaced along the batten but disposed between the retaining members, mechanism for linearly moving the retaining members in unison in front of the batten, and cam-operated Cir mechanism for angularly moving the pulling members in sequence between the retaining members to a position in advance thereof, so as to engage the weft and gradually force it into a wave formation.

11. A loom for weaving fabrics comprising a batten, a set of slidable weft-retaining fingers, a set of pivotal weft-pulling fingers, the retaining fingers and the pulling fingers being arranged along the batten, mechanism for moving the retaining fingers in front of the shuttlerace of the batten, a rotary camshaftgeared to the picker shaft of the loom, a plurality of cams on the cam-shaft, and links and levers operatively connecting the pulling fingers to the cams for moving the pulling fingers in sequence to engage the weft and carry it forwards between the slidably mounted fingers in order to gradually form waves in the Weft.

12. A loom for weaving fabrics comprising a batten, a set of slidable weft-retaining fingers, a set of pivotal weft-pulling fingers, the retaining fingers and the pulling fingers being arranged along the batten, mechanism for moving the retaining fingers in front of the shuttle-race of the batten, a rotary canishaft geared to the picker shaft of the loom, a plurality of cams on the cam-shaft, links and levers operatively connecting the pulling fingers to the cams for moving the pulling fingers in sequence to engage the weft and carry it forwards between the slidably mounted fingers in order to gradually form waves in the weft, and means whereby the fingers of both sets are all maintained in the position into which they have been moved until the batten approaches the end of its 't'orward movement when they are withdrawn in unison clear of the weft.

13. A loom for weaving fabrics comprising a batten, a set of weft-retaining mem bers arranged along the batten, an adjustable set of weftpulling members also arranged along the batten but disposed between the retaining members, mechanism for moving the retaining members in unison to a position in front of the shuttle-race, and camoperated mechanism for moving the pulling members in sequence to a position an adjustable extent in advance of the retaining members so as to engage the Weft and gradually force it into a wave formation of predetermined magnitude, the members be ing maintained in the positions into which they are so moved until the batten ap proaches the end of its forward travel when the members are withdrawn simultaneously clear of the weft.

14. A loom for weaving fabrics comprising a batten, a set. of weft-pulling members pivotally mounted on the batten, a set of weft-retaining members movably carried by the batten, for moving the retaining members in front of the shuttle-race, mechanism for moving the pulling-members so as to engage the weft and carry it in waves between the retaining members, shock-absorbing means for bringing the pulling members to rest, means maintaining the fingers of both sets in the said positions until the batten approaches the end of its forward move ment, said means then operating to withdraw the fingers clear of the weft.

15. A loom for weaving'fabrics comprising a iatten, a row of members extending in front of the s rattle-race of the batten and acting as a shuttle guard, a plurality of weft-pulling fingers mounted on the batten and disposed between the said memoers, mechanism for moving the fingers between the members to a position in advance thereof so as to form waves in the weft and for temporarily withdrawing said fingers from the weft as the reed approaches the fell of the fabric, and mechanism for temporarily withdrawing the members clear of the weft when the fingers are being withdrawn.

16. it loom for weaving fabrics comprising a batten. a row of normally upstanding members slidably mounted in front of the shuttleraee of the batten and acting as a shuttleguard, a plurality of weft-pulling fingers pivotally mounted on the batten and dispose cl between said upstanding members, canroperated mechanism for moving the pivotal fingers forward sequence between the upstanding members so as to gradually form waves in the weft, and also for with drawing the said fingers simultaneously from the weft as the reed approaches the fell of the fabric, and mechanism for also temporarily withdrawing the members clear of the weft in unison with the withdrawal of the fingers.

In testimony whereof we alfix our signatures.

JAMES MORTON. JOSEPH BEASLEY VEBSTER. 

